Forensic Educators

Attention Forensic Educators:
If you are an educator in forensic odontology and would like a certificate template for your students, please email education@asfo.org with a brief description of your course and we can send you the certificate template to be used for your students.

The following represents curriculum guidelines for the teaching of forensic odontology in dental school predoctoral and auxiliary programs are the work of the American Board of Forensic Odontology, Inc. (ABFO). The ABFO is recognized by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences as a specialty organization that offers board certification to its members. One of the purposes of the Board is to encourage the study of, improve the practice of, establish and enhance standards for, and advance the specialty of forensic odontology. Although the guidelines are recommendations, their use as course development aids is suggested by official ABFO policy.

The guidelines were developed by the ABFO’s Ad Hoc Dental Student Curriculum Committee and were approved by the ABFO Board of the Directors and membership in February, 2006. The members of the committee consisted of the following:

The objective of the guidelines is to delineate pertinent topics and basic content of teaching that will provide an optimal educational experience in the field of forensic odontology. It is recognized that individual dental schools’ policies, philosophies, and curricular structures will vary and therefore so will the amount of time and weight that is afforded to this subject.

Also, forensic dentistry interrelates with most of the fields of dental study including anatomy, radiology, embryology, oral pathology, biomaterials and the various restorative sciences. Therefore, it is recommended that the teaching of this material be conducted in the latter part of the dental students’ educational program.